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Interesting how it seems the small private LACs do not fare well at all - I had attended Moravian (though not for nursing, and it was a great liberal arts school) and my cousin was at Misericordia for nursing - both in the 60%'s. It seems the larger and/or state schools have higher pass rates. Even the community colleges beat out the small LACs! I have applied to Northampton Community College's RN program and was surprised to see the pass rates are lower than Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC has a significantly poorer reputation from what I hear than NCC, which is why I applied to NCC).

There are some things that affect pass rates. Some colleges may have a higher number of older and more mature students who had medical experience beforehand. Some colleges have much more selective admissions than others. For example, Pitt, Penn State and West Chester are very selective in their nursing admissions.

Some colleges may force people out of the program in their 3rd year if they don't think they will succeed. At least one college reportedly won't give you a diploma unless they are sure you will pass the test on the first try.

I find the wide variations from year to year very interesting in some programs.

Many (if not most) BSN Programs require Sr. students to take a sort of pre-NCLEX exam called the HESI Exam. It provides students with their percentile odds of passing the NCLEX exam based upon their HESI score. It also provides feedback to students regarding areas they may be weak in. It is my understanding that a small number of programs require their students to score high enough on the HESI (I assume that the Program determines the actual minimum score) before they will award the student their BSN degree. I have heard that schools that do this generally allow students 3 attempts to score high enough to meet their requirement. If not they are not awarded their BSN (they usually give them some other type of Bachelors degree but it is not a BSN). Of course you need a BSN to be eligible to take the NCLEX exam so these students cannot become licensed. There are now courses available to help students prepare to take the HESI Exam. Students applying to Nursing Programs should inquire before applying about whether the Program has this requirement in order to be awarded a BSN. I do not believe most such programs include this in their Program descriptions. Hope this info is helpful.

Of course you need a BSN to be eligible to take the NCLEX exam so these students cannot become licensed.

I may have misunderstood, but how is that accurate if community colleges offer 2-year RN programs? RNs do not necessarily need a BSN...most of the RNs my mom works with do not have a bachelors, but rather graduated with an ADN from a local community college.

I do think that students who are in a BSN program cannot become RNs if they don't graduate from their program. My cousin was in her last year of a BSN program and failed a class. There was a lot of discussion about what she should do since she would have to wait a year to retake it. From what I understand, she would not be eligible to take the NCLEX if she doesn't graduate with her degree in nursing. But students in associates' programs can take the NCLEX if they graduate, so having a BSN is not necessary, but having a nursing degree of some type is. Of course, having a BSN helps in the job hunt as opposed to an ADN, so I am not cutting down 4-year programs.

On another note:

You may find that some graduates of very selective colleges are overconfident, and don't spend as much time on test prep.

I do agree with this. Many nursing students at my private LAC seemed to have their parents paying for their education (as was typical of the general student body at my school), so maybe they didn't take it as seriously or understand that it wouldn't be as easy as high school anatomy. Whereas most of the nursing students I knew going to community colleges were paying for it themselves, so that may have been a motivating factor. I don't think CCs could really be "easier" in the nursing field since you need to know a certain amount of information to pass the NCLEX regardless of where you go. But perhaps 4-year schools have more requirements, or more clinical hours, than some CCs which decreases study time? It'd be interesting to know why more students pass at some less reputable CCs than at some respected LACs.

NovaLynnx:
If you read my post carefully you will will see I was referencing nursing students in BSN programs in regards to my comments. I was not speaking about nursing students in Associates Degree or Diploma Programs who, of course, are eligible to take the NCLEX exam once they complete their Program.

I suppose it was the wording that I misunderstood when you said "of course you need a BSN" instead of "of course, these students need a BSN."

My cousin's college does not use the HESI or anything like it. Do students usually take it in their last semester, or the end of their fall senior semester? Perhaps something like that would have helped her decide if she should return a year later. She has been struggling throughout the program and I have a feeling she will not do well on her NCLEX even if she does finish the program.

It's worth noting that LACs typically do not offer nursing programs. None of Pennsylvania's top LACs, including Swarthmore, Haverford, Gettysburg, Franklin and Marshall, Lafayette, Dickinson, Bryn Mawr and Allegheny, are included in the data provided. This does not mean that there are not students who begin their academic career at a LAC, then transfer to a school with a nursing program. There is no way to determine how those students did on the RN test, however.

Nearly all of the LACs in my area do offer nursing, but since the schools are, well, a LAC, the facilities aren't as up to date at perhaps larger state schools. Certainly many of the LACs listed on the above link with nursing programs are not really "known" for their nursing programs.

Also, there are students who attend the St. Luke's school of nursing at Moravian who are not technically Moravian college students - I am wondering whether they are included in the scores or not? Scores never do mean much without some kind of descriptive analysis to understand what they really mean.

Not trying to pick a fight NovaLynnx, but I do wonder which LACs you are thinking of. Generally speaking, by definition LACs don't offer professional programs. There are exceptions to be sure. Lafayette, Bucknell and Union College, for example, offer engineering. Most LACs do not, although many will offer a 3+2 dual degree program in cooperation with a university's engineering school. I know that Washington College in Maryland offers a dual degree program in nursing in cooperation with John Hopkins. I am sure there are other examples.

In addition to the schools I noted earlier Bucknell, Lycoming, Ursinus, Albright, Juniata and Washington & Jefferson -- all good to excellent LACs -- do not offer nursing. Most students interested in nursing do not look to LACs for the simple reason that schools classified as LACs do not normally offer nursing.

Misericordia and Moravian Colleges are the two I am mostly referring to, since I attended Moravian and my cousin is at Misericordia. Cedar Crest College as well, are all considered LACs but which offer BSN programs. Cedar Crest is most noted of the three for its nursing program. But Moravian and Misericordia both scored poorly on the report the OP had posted.

Moravian's nursing program is set up through St. Luke's School of Nursing, so students take their gen. eds. at Moravian but most of their medical training comes from St. Luke's Hospital. Students may also attend the St. Luke's program for LPN/RN without being students of Moravian College. Moravian just offers the BSN for those who want a bachelor's degree in nursing as opposed to just LPN or RN.

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